If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Newb tarp ideas for a cycle touring.

So I'm brand new to Hammock camping and have switched my one man tent/thermarest to a (soon to arrive) BIAS Camper hammock. Very excited and really enjoy this forum of knowledgable people!

I already have plans for a bugnet so now I'm looking for ideas for a tarp. I will be doing some stealth camping by bike so lightweight would be nice but not that big of a deal, honestly. Just would like to be able to pack it small or into a roll to stick on top of a rack.

Any of you have setups that do a decent job of covering gear/bike? What would you do about water flowing in the ground under you with all of your gear there?

Are doors recommended?

I would really like to keep it under $150 but there's wiggle room.

I see warbonnet is a favorite here but there are so many to chose from!

There are a lot of options! I've used blue tarps from wally world, sportsmans guide 12' tarps, and I've tried a DIY tarp (it was too heavy using 1.9 coated nylon so it became a spray cover for my Bell canoe)

The most bang for my buck so far has been the HH Hex tarp in 70D nylon. I found one on Amazon for $70. It covers well and is under $100.

It is in no way equivilant to the cottage venders here and it don't have doors but the coverage good enough and at 1 1/2 lbs not too heavy

I haven't needed doors yet, I am going to try my frog toggs poncho as a door this spring to see how well it helps. Usually I can get by with site selection by pitching the hammock so one of the sides of my tarp will go to the ground and block the wind.

I think you could get all of your gear and a bike under it if you pitch it in "porch mode". I usually hang my extra gear in a smaller hammock chair/gear hammock under my sleeping hammock. Does your bike have its own stand? (mine don't) if so, you could possibly hang gear on it under the tarp. My tarp don't usually cover all the way to the tree if you were planing on resting the bike against the tree.

Hope this helps

Jason

"It's better to keep your mouth shut and let people THINK your stupid than to open it and PROVE it" - SFC Kagawa, United States Army (my old platoon SGT)
*Originally -Abraham Lincoln 16th president of US (1809 -1865)

I used a HH hammock and tarp each in their own snakeskins rolled up on the front rack under my bar bag, fit without getting in the way of the panniers.
As for the rain.. I have waterproof covers for my panniers that I made so I just kept everything out in the open.

How much gear are you bringing on these trips, and how important is it that your bike stay dry? Those're the questions that'll help determine how you pack and which tarp you need.

For me, I started out with the huge Hennessy Hex tarp--the one recommended by lattie11581 above. It works, and you can fit a smallish bike (road or touring, as long as your panniers aren't too wide) under it along with an hammock with a little finagling.

I've also successfully used a poncho as a secondary tarp to cover the bike, but most folks won't enjoy riding longer distances with a poncho on (drag sucks).

Nowadays, I don't worry about the bike getting wet too much; all of my stuff is either hung (bear bag), in the hammock with me, or waterproof. I've winnowed my gear down to the point where I can do that.

Newb tarp ideas for a cycle touring.

Leather saddle is all I worry about but I plan to wrap it at night. Comfort is totally worth the maintenance. I can always relube the Drivetrain if it does get wet. I guess sticking it under the hammock -under the tarp is logical.

Leather saddle is all I worry about but I plan to wrap it at night. Comfort is totally worth the maintenance. I can always relube the Drivetrain if it does get wet. I guess sticking it under the hammock -under the tarp is logical.

We're just getting started so not a whole lot of experience yet beyond some daytime test runs and a couple overnights, and honestly our climate allows us to avoid rain for the most part. But my leather saddles have gotten soaked more than once and survived to provide years of service, so I'm not too worked up about it. I've tied a plastic shopping bag over it too.

I'm using a Warbonnet Superfly because I like the extra coverage for weather and as a 'changing room'... don't wanna stay in those shorts! I've managed to get all my hammock/tarp (with Dutchware hook system & in Mountain Goat tarp sleeves, BRILLIANT)/stakes/tree straps/air pad/SOL bivy bag (modded into a 'blanket' for extra insulation or a ground sheet of I have to go to ground) + nanopuff jacket in my front roll. That leaves extra clothing + big ol' marmot Helium sleeping bag for the rear bag, and everything else in my Camelbak Octane 14 pack.

Husby has an Osprey Stratos 26 bag he can throw more stuff in. He's using a camo Edge tarp... less coverage, but he's got a Dangerbird hammock so at least he can zip up a cover.

The BIAS Camper is a relatively long hammock. Not that the WB tarps wouldn't fit, but you might consider a longer tarp. I have the AHE Toxaway and I'm sure it would give you plenty of coverage at well under you budget figure. You might not carry poles since you're riding, but would be good to have to prop the tarp up in porch mode to better handle the bike underneath.

Also, someone mentioned a disposable shower cap, which is fine if you can find one, but the grocery stores (and Target, etc.) are now selling them as bowl covers. A package of assorted sizes, including big ones that would fit a seat goes for about $3.

"I wonder if anyone else has an ear so tuned and sharpened as I have, to detect the music, not of the spheres, but of earth, subtleties of major and minor chord that the wind strikes upon the tree branches. Have you ever heard the earth breathe... ?"
- Kate Chopin